World Hippo Day 15 February 2024 – Hippos return to South Australia

World Hippo Day is celebrated annually on 15 February.

I love the hippo. While I was in Berlin this week, I visited the Pygmy Hippo at the Berlin Zoo in Germany, where my love for the hippo began many years before. At the Berlin Zoo, there once was the famous female Nile Hippo called “Bulettte” – which means meatballs. She was born in 1952 in the Leipzig Zoo before soon being transported to the Berlin Zoo. She died in 2005 at the age of 53 – but gave birth to 20 young in her lifetime.

Pygmy Hippos at Berlin Zoo. Photographer Martina Nicolls, February 2024

My Hippo alert team has updated me on the hippo population at the Adelaide Zoo in South Australia, where I grew up.

Poor Brutus the Nile Hippo died on 7 May 2020 at the age of 55 at the Adelaide Zoo (featured photo above). He was originally called Albert when he was born at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney in 1965. When he arrived in Adelaide in 1975, his named changed to Brutus. He arrived with his partner Susie (formally called Victoria). Brutus and Susie had 17 children. Susie died on 20 July 2017.

Brutus the Hippo at Adelaide Zoo. Photographer Martina Nicolls, January 2003

On 8 December 2023, Adelaide Zoo announced the arrival of two Nile Hippos and the “Hip-hip Hooray, Hippos Return to SA” slogan. The two new female Nile Hippos are Brindabella and Pansy, the only surviving relatives of Brutus and Susie. Brindabella and Pansy were both born at Werribee Zoo in Victoria, Australia. Granddaughter Brindabella was born on 9 December 1990 and great-granddaughter Pansy, formerly called Zawadi, was born on 18 November 2013.

Photo from Adelaide Zoo

MARTINA NICOLLS

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Martina Nicolls is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris.

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